KakaSaku: Endure and Survive
by serenity-touched
Summary: Nothing will ever be the same. A series of snippets inspired from The Last of Us. KakaSaku.
1. Prelude

**KakaSaku: Endure and Survive  
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_- Prelude -  
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Startled awake from hearing a loud clack, Sakura bolted up from her bed to find that her window had been forced open. Grabbing a shuriken that was lying on her nightstand, her body relaxed when she saw a familiar silhouette in the moonlit shadows.

"Kakashi?" she hesitantly spoke aloud.

Squinting her green eyes as he flicked on the lights in her room, she let out a sleepy yawn before asking why he was barging inside her apartment at this hour, but then fell silent at seeing a large amount of blood stained across his clothes.

Immediately getting up from her bed in fear that he was seriously hurt, he held up a hand to stop her before she could touch him. "It's not mine," he evenly murmured. "I'm okay."

His hand slowly melted to his side as he looked in concern towards the window as a light breeze shifted the curtains. After a moment he seemed to relax, but looked towards the floor in deep thought.

Interlacing her fingers together, Sakura didn't feel any easier from the faint grim look etched across his partially masked face. He seemed more despondent than his usual self.

"Kakashi, what happened?" she softly asked.

Shaking his head from his lingering thoughts, he finally looked up to her and replied, "Sorry, we really don't have time. Get dressed and grab your gear. We need to leave the village as soon as possible."

"But-"

"Sakura," he sharply cut in. His lone eye softened in regret at his harsh tone. "Please trust me on this."

Taken aback at first, she knew something must be terribly wrong given how usually calm and collected he was even in a battle. Staring at the deep crimson across his hands and flak jacket, her mind rushed to thoughts of what could have happened. Had they been attacked? Was the entire village evacuating right now? It was unlike him not to discuss the situation. Noticing that he was staring at her, she realized that he was waiting for her to confirm that she was coming. Despite all the questions she had, she did trust him with her life. Their years together as teammates proved that much.

Once she nodded, he left the room. She got dressed as fast as she could but froze when she heard a distant scream outside. Running to the window, she poked her head out and gasped at seeing a large fire in the distance between several buildings. In the center of it was the Hokage Tower. Dread washed over her.

Running out into the living room, she found Kakashi quickly searching through her kitchen's cabinets. "Kakashi, the tower's on fire!" she blurted out.

Looking down into his bag for a moment, he hummed. "I know. I was just there."

"Why didn't you tell me? We need to go help! It's out of control."

"It's too late for that," he faintly replied. Lifting up his backpack around his shoulders, he headed towards the door and motioned her to follow. "Sakura, we need to leave."

Stunned, her heart sank as she couldn't believe the lack of concerned words out of his mouth. This man always put duty and the village before anything else. How could he want to abandon the very people they were sworn to protect? It didn't make any sense. What the hell was going on?

Hearing more screams in the distance, she grumbled and ran back into her room to grab her bag that she usually took on missions. Jumping out of her window, she landed on her balcony's railing before ascending towards the rooftop. Already making up her mind, she headed in the direction of the blaze hoping to not just help, but find answers. But before she had a chance to get too far, she had been strongly grabbed back by her arm.

"Sakura," Kakashi pleaded. "Please just trust me. There isn't anything we can do."

Yanking her hand away, she took a step back and looked hurt. "Look, I don't understand what's going on but I'm not a coward," she spat. "I can't just look the other way when people's lives are endangered. Not only am I a medic, but that's not what a shinobi does, or have you forgotten, Sensei?"

Running back towards the tower from rooftop to rooftop, she ignored his desperate warnings for her to stop. Hurt welled up inside her heart with each step she took, feeling betrayed and let down by the one person she cared for more than she wanted to admit. Increasing her speed, the closer she came towards the fires, the louder the screams were. Dropping down into the pebbled streets, she could see people were frantically running up ahead. Quickly moving towards them, her steps cautiously slowed until she realized what was happening before her.

Tears immediately stung her eyes and her stomach twisted as she stood in horror. People were tearing each other apart with just their bare teeth and hands, devouring all that they could. Blood filled the streets wherever she looked. Once the smell of death hit her senses, she held a hand against her mouth and nearly retched.

Never in her life had she ever seen something like this. As a shinobi she had seen her fair share of death, even more so as a medic, but nothing like this.

Nothing.

Women, children, men… Jouin and other shinobi alike. Some were people that she knew and had talked to not even a day before, but everyone seemed to have all lost their damn minds. Those who were being attacked and caught screamed in gut wrenching terror as they watched themselves being eaten alive and torn apart. It wasn't long before they fell quiet once they took their last breath.

Feeling light headed, Sakura knelt down towards the ground and steadied her breath. Her body shook and she couldn't understand why she couldn't stop. Feeling something grab her back, Sakura twisted around and stumbled backwards as a man with strange veined skin and white eyes rushed forward tried to pull her by the neck of her shirt. He strained to bite at her skin before she summoned the chakra to punch him back into an empty market stand.

The loud commotion immediately trigged the surrounding people to run towards her in an instant. Frantically rising to her feet, she slipped once before heading into an amber glowing alleyway. A strong heat washed over her as she passed tall flames of the buildings around her. Jumping to the top of a building that was still clear, she turned in surprise to find that several people were still chasing after her even up on the rooftops.

Kicking several of them down to the streets below, she raised her hand to punch the next but froze. Yellow hair and grayed over dull blue eyes met her gaze.

"N-Naruto?" her voice cracked in disbelief.

Fear shot through her veins as he grabbed her throat with an icy touch, throwing her backwards towards roof. The tiles around them cracked and broke apart which caused them both to slide and fall towards the earth below. Landing hard on her back, Sakura had lost her breath for a moment as she failed to summon to strength to hold him back.

A sound of what seemed like a thousand birds rang through the air, followed by a bright light which appeared through Naruto's chest. In an instant, he became lifeless and fell beside her with a thud. His eyes remained opened, staring off into the deep night's sky above. The fear she had felt quickly was replaced with anguish.

Tears streamed down her cheeks as she blinked. Her breath hitched as her throat burned. Looking up to Kakashi who kneeled beside her, he placed a shaken hand over the boy's eyes and closed them.

"I-I'm sorry… I'm really sorry," Kakashi strained out.

Everything was a blur as people began to drop down beside them and come from the back alleyway. Pulling her into his arms without sparing another moment, Kakashi leapt with all his strength fast as he could across the village and over the gates.

Eventually she asked to be let down, wanting to walk on her feet and not burden him anymore than she already had. The pair ran through the dark forest, taking cover within the trees and didn't stop to rest until hours later once dawn greeted them. Finding a large tree with wooden boarding encircling the thick trunk, the area was most likely used as an old wildlife lookout spot. Taking opposite sides of the tree, they hadn't spoken a word since they had fled the village.

Staring at her feet as she dangled them over the edge, the happy chirps of birds stirring awake made her feel empty inside. She still couldn't believe it. Her best friend was dead along with countless others. While she still didn't understand why or how, what she hoped for most was that she would just wake up from this never ending nightmare. But as the sun continued to spread over the horizon, the warmth of its rays reached her skin. The longer she sat there and listened to the faint rustling wind around them, the more reality set in.

This was real.

Glancing quietly back to Kakashi around the trunk of the tree, he seemed to be staring at his hands which were still dirtied with dry blood. After a long moment, he buried himself within his arms over his knees. Seeing him begin to slightly shake, she moved on her knees and sat beside him in concern.

Placing a gentle hand on his back, she said, "Kakashi…?"

He wouldn't look at her.

"…K-Kakashi."

After a long silence he finally picked up his head, but continued to look away into the distant forest as the sun rose over the horizon. Moving slightly closer, she could tell the side of his face above his mask seemed drained with color. Attempting to speak, he choked on his words before placing the back of hand over his eyes, weakly clenching his fist. His covered lips broke into a muffled sob.

Sakura didn't think her heart could manage breaking anymore than it already had in a matter of hours, but it did in that very moment. Reaching her arms around him, she hugged his back as she cried with him. She didn't have any idea where they would go from here, but they needed to find a way to keep surviving.

Together.

_TBC_

* * *

><p>[ <strong>Author Note:<strong> Awhile back I had an Anon request from Tumblr to do a Last of Us inspired drabble which the above is the result of that (this chapter is also posted in A Pocket of Drabbles). But after thinking about it more, I really loved the idea of writing little snippets of basically what a Naruto apocalyptic world might be like run with ninja zombies. I wanted to do something that's not really a full multi-chapter story although everything will tie together as days pass, but I wanted to just do small moments of a day with time skipping.

A lot of this is inspired by the video game which is one of my favorites of all time, but this won't be a crossover as it's more just inspired. I may use same ideas or even same situations, so just a warning there if you haven't played the game!

Also warning that there will be lots of character death (**Trust me when I say no one is safe. **_**No one is safe**_**.**), possible sexual situations, gore and probably sad and depressing stuff.

I won't be posting any other WARNINGS after this, so please take note the risk to read any future chapter snippet things. None of this will be edited as I post like my drabbles, so there will be mistakes.

There will be an ending, but I'll be casually posting here and there.

Comments and feedback are always appreciated and I'd love to hear any ideas yall might have as I go along. And as always, thanks for taking the time to read my silly things~ ]


	2. Day 1

**Day 1  
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The morning's sun steadily began to rise behind their backs as the bellowing smoke of their village was becoming a speck in the distance. They had stopped only for a little while after their earlier breakdown into tears. Kakashi was now as silent as ever, but did murmur a quiet thank you before they set off to travel once again.

Sakura felt almost hallow as her steps crunched lightly along the forest's floor, her eyes still slightly red and puffy from her previous crying against Kakashi's shoulder. Just thinking about everything and everyone who they've lost, she still didn't understand what had happened or how to even make sense of it all. Still, she hoped that more people made it out alive. Right now the thought of finding her friends and family again was the only thing that was keeping her going. She had to believe it. They couldn't be the only ones alive.

"Will we ever go back?" she accidentally asked aloud. Hesitantly glancing to Kakashi as he walked beside her lost within his own thoughts, she wasn't sure if he would respond. A lot has happened in the last few hours and she didn't want to press him for conversation just yet. They were both mentally and physically drained as is it without trying to make small talk.

"At some point perhaps," Kakashi replied faintly. "Not anytime soon."

Part of her wondered if there was anything they could have done to try and help save their village. She was there and had almost got killed, but… she just didn't know. Everything happened so fast.

As silence stretched between them, her thoughts shifted to where they were going. All she could gather right now was that they were heading west. "Where are we heading to now?" she murmured aloud. "If you don't mind me asking…"

Adjusting the heavy straps of his pack as they stepped over a few fallen trees in their path, he admitted, "I wasn't sure at first after last night, but after thinking about it more, I think heading to the Hidden Sand Village would be best for now. The Kazekage has always been a friend of Konoha's and…" His voice faded for a moment. "…Naruto. It's likely other people from our village might seek refuge there as well."

Nodding in agreement, she said, "Sounds as good as any plan to me. I really hope we'll find other people from Konoha there."

"Me too…"

Although the longer they walked without running into another soul, the more worried she became in wondering if that would really be the case. But she had to keep hoping.

It was a little past noon before they stopped to rest again, this time at the edge of a moderately sized lake that they happened to come across. Kakashi had asked if she wanted to rinse off first, but she politely declined, wanting him to go before since he was covered with a lot more dry blood than her. A lot of it was Naruto's… and she knew he took it especially hard of what he had to do. She couldn't blame him. Part of her felt guilty he was forced to just for her sake. She inwardly sighed as she stared down towards the long blades of grass that were tucked beneath her feet where she sat. She always was the one who needed saving, wasn't she? Sometimes she couldn't understand how she seemed to have accomplished so much after years of training and experience in the 4th war, yet nothing at the same time. She wasn't even sure if she could have the same courage to kill the same boy who had a crush on her for most of her life growing up. Hell, she couldn't even kill Sasuke when she had decided to do it for everyone's sake. Lowering head with an inaudible sigh to her knees, she shook her head. Kakashi even had to save her then.

Even thinking about it now, it was hard to believe that Naruto was gone. He had saved them so many times, but why was it that when it mattered the most, she couldn't help him or anyone else? Everything he had built up to this moment was gone. People looked up to him for hope as not just a hero, but as person… and now he was dead. It was hard to describe in words just how much his loss hurt.

Hearing the rustle of clothing snapped her back from her thoughts. Her cheeks reddened slightly as she listened to Kakashi undress as she sat with her back towards him and the water. This was probably the closest she's ever been when he was bathing. It wasn't often during their missions as Team Seven that they would wash somewhere unless it was a long trip, but when they did their main camp was always far away for privacy sake. Not wanting to take their chances in something happening to either them, they had decided to keep close for now, not that she minded at all.

Listening to him slosh into the water with a string of small curses how cold it was before he jumped in, she smiled slightly at imagining him saying all that naked with his lone mask on. Of course it would be silly if he was still wearing it, but it made her inwardly laugh that he would. That's all she's ever known of the man was to wear it every single day come rain or shine. Also just imagining him completely naked was a thought she didn't want to dwell on for a lot of inappropriate reasons, but maybe someday she could find the nerve to sneak a peek for curiosity sake. For his maskless face… of course.

When it was her turn to wash up after he redressed into new change of clothes he had brought in his pack, they switched positions at the lake's grassy shore. Once his back was turned, she quickly unzipped and wiggled off her clothes before jumping in the lake with a small splash. The icy water made her shiver at first before getting used to the temperature. Using a bar of soap she had kept in her backpack for missions, she tried to quickly wash off the mix of sweat, dirt and blood as fast as she could so they wouldn't delay much longer here than necessary.

Once she was finished, she began to swim back to the shore, but heard strange commotion of cracked wood snapping through the forest only a few feet away. A group of startled birds suddenly flew away at the top of the trees towards the sun.

"Kakashi?" she worriedly hushed out as she quietly swam closer.

"Stay there," he said as he rose to his feet with a kunai in hand.

Wanting to help, the only thing that was making her stay put in the water was for her own dignity as he walked past where she was swimming, but she readied herself to spring to her weapons if needed no matter if she was naked or not.

She watched as he silently moved towards the forest's edge and then gasped as a pale woman lunged forward from the trees towards him. He flipped backwards and struck a blow to her head with his dagger and twisted it, causing her to instantly drop to the ground with a hard thud. The woman's strange features appeared to be the same as the people they encountered back at the village who tried to viciously attack and eat other people. She wasn't sure what to call them just yet… but they certainly seemed inhuman.

More pale faced bodies suddenly burst out of the trees and towards Kakashi, desperately trying to claw and bite at his arms as he spun and kicked a few away. Setting a few on fire with a ninjutsu, it didn't stop them for long as they rushed toward him again even engulfed in flames.

When he was suddenly pushed to the ground from being overwhelmed as they pressed together around him, she immediately ran out of the lake and grabbed a few kunai laid out by her bag, whizzing them into the creatures that tried to take hold of his arms. Wrapping a loose towel around her chest in mid-run that barely covered her thighs, she tried to ignore the sting of embarrassment from being so barely clad as it is while she kicked and punched the rest of them that charged towards them. The ones that were tossed back immediately sprung up after them again and again. It seemed endless.

Feeling a cold clammy hand suddenly grab her ankle, she screamed in surprise to find a bloodied man at her feet. Kakashi pulled her back by the shoulder after stomping on the ridged fingers to let go. Only moments earlier had she punched the same man with all her charka strength through the chest. He had fallen to the ground like he had died, but now struggled to move towards her even without a heart… or a hand.

"I-I don't understand how they can still keep moving even after you take out their heart?" she asked, unsure if there was a sure way to kill them or not. Also not sensing any charka besides Kakashi's, she wondered if they were even alive at all. But the woman he had pierced a dagger through her skull earlier still remained lifeless on the ground. "Unless it's only their heads?" she added.

She immediately thought of what that meant for Naruto. There was a flash of concern in Kakashi's eyes as she figured he was thinking about the same thing. He had only punctured Naruto's chest before they fled… was he still half alive? It almost seemed more horrible than death forever being turned into whatever these people were.

Sakura and Kakashi faced back to back and continued to attack as more sprang from the forest in groups. They were slowly becoming more surrounded no matter how fast they tried to defend their ground. Struggling to keep up, it was becoming too much for them to handle at once. They were going to die unless they did something, and fast.

Kakashi lightly pulled at her arm, "Run to the water! Forget your things, we'll come back later."

Nodding, she threw a hard punch below which cracked the earth's soil and several surrounding trees to buy them more precious time to run. They both hurried towards the lake and jumped into the water. Fighting to hold her towel as she swam, the creatures began to chase after them into the lake. She was really scared that they weren't going to make it. They could outrun some on land, but not those who appeared to be former shinobi.

When they were a little past half way swimming across the lake, Kakashi held her shoulder. "Wait… I don't think they can swim."

She turned back and watched as they mindlessly appeared to be sinking into the water as soon as they were completely immersed in trying to follow after them. Would they really drown? Or only stay half alive at the bottom of the lake until they reached a shallow edge? Either way, it was a creepy thought that there could be hundreds of those things at the bottom of the water.

Finally reaching the other side, they sat at the edge of the lake as the last few chasing them went into the water and never reappeared. Everything was just as still and quiet like it was only a few minutes ago before they were interrupted. Never did she think such peaceful silence could ever feel so unsettling.

Shivering from a passing cold breeze, Kakashi was looking cold as well completely soaked in his clothes. He slowly sat up, wringing out some of the water from his shirt and then offered her a hand to help her rise to her feet. Seeing him awkwardly turn away to look in any direction but hers, her never ending embarrassment returned again from realizing the way the clinging wet towel wasn't exactly leaving much to the imagination.

They quietly made their way back around the lake before preparing to head west once more towards The Land of Wind. She had a feeling this was going to be a long journey.

_TBC_


	3. Day 2

**Day 2**

Kakashi nearly slipped from a branch as he and Sakura flew through the tops of the trees at a record speed. Slowing down, he sighed knowing it was only a matter of time before he fell flat on his face if he kept pushing himself this hard. Rubbing the sweat away from his eyes, he felt so tired, but couldn't manage to sleep longer than a few minutes at a time so far.

Glancing to Sakura who offered him a weary look, he was sure she didn't sleep much either. Making camp in a small open area of the forest last night, all they heard until dawn was faint screams in different directions within the surrounding darkness. At first they had both jumped up in concern, but soon realized they would have a hard time finding anyone in the pitch black forest. And then even if they went, there was no telling who or what they might find. They could end up getting killed like they almost did at the lake yesterday.

He felt like he was slowing losing himself in an unspoken crippling fear that they weren't going to survive this, or rather more importantly he was more terrified at the fact he would fail to protect Sakura… just like all the rest of the people he cared for in his life. No matter how hard he tried to hang on, everyone lives intertwined with his always seemed to slip past his fingers like sand, and it always seemed to be his fault each time. He wasn't sure how much more heartbreak he could endure and he's had enough of it to last for two lifetimes if not more. After Naruto, he just didn't think he could handle anymore at this point. He just can't…

"Kakashi-sensei," Sakura called out.

Snapping out of his thoughts, he looked up as they jumped from tree top to tree top that there was a small village in the distance. He wasn't sure if they should travel through, but they needed to at least know if this place had met the same fate as Konoha. He hoped that it wasn't the case, but once they slowed to a stop and dropped to the ground, his hopes were gone as soon as they saw several mangled bodies littered across the road towards the empty entrance.

He sighed. "We should probably just go around."

"What if there are still some people who are alive?" Sakura faintly asked. "It's a small place… and it seems quiet. Would it hurt to look?"

"It might," he replied. "I don't know if it's a good idea."

"Wait," she suddenly spoke up, squinting her green eyes as she peered around a tree for a better view. "Is… is that…?"

Seeing a couple of figures walking across the top of a house, he strained to look before recognizing a familiar uniform. "I don't believe it," he rasped.

Sakura had already sprinted towards the village's entrance before he could manage to say anything more. "Sakura! W-Wait!"

Chasing after her, they both ran until they were at the base of a wooden building where they had spotted two shinobi just moments before. Sakura called out for them to wait as she ran up along the side with chakra infused feet. Kakashi continued to follow until they were on the rooftop and face to face with two surprised fellow Jounins from Konoha.

"Shikamaru?" Sakura uttered in disbelief, unable to hold back her excitement as she pulled the shadow user into a hug. He nearly choked on his lit cigarette, but hugged her back while offering a wave to Kakashi. Once she stepped back, she gave another hug but this time to Choji who began to turn a bright red. "Choji," she murmured with a sad smile as she looked the pair. "It's good to see you both."

"I'm glad you both made it out," Shikamaru genuinely said, taking one last huff of his cigarette before flicking it towards the pebbled dirt below. "We've seen a few scattered groups of people from Konoha traveling more North from here."

"We haven't managed to see anyone else but you guys," Kakashi said as he placed his hands within his pockets. Glancing to Sakura, he added, "I think… we were starting to worry."

"There are two more villages towards the coast from here I wondered if they had been infected as well, but it's hard to know for certain." He turned his head, sighing as he placed his hands behind his neck. "If this place didn't make it then I have my doubts for the others."

"Is mostly everyone heading to Suna?" Sakura asked.

"I believe so," he replied. "Though I've been trying to send messages to Tamari and haven't heard anything back yet. So I'm a little worried they could have met the same fate as the rest of us, but the village is isolated in the desert. I'd hope they would have managed to miss whatever kind of virus this is… but I'm not entirely sure where it hit first."

"A virus… so this really isn't some kind of strange Jutsu?" she added.

"It could be for all I know, but something so wide scale… this is like an epidemic."

"Whatever the case, I hope we can figure out how to stop this before it's too late."

Shikamaru sighed. "Yeah… you and me both."

Choji remained despondent although he seemed to be listening to the conversation. Kakashi glanced between the young men, noticing they both looked like they had been to hell and back. He knew Shikamaru had seen the start of all this before everything fell apart. They were briefly together after Tsunade had summoned them to discuss the situation with a few other Jounin at the last minute. Several groups of Anbu had gone missing several hours earlier who had responded to the initial breech outside their walls. A few wounded were recovered and placed in the ICU at the hospital which Tsunade personally attempted to treat them, but it was too late. Before they even realized what was happening they were already lost. Little did anyone know exactly how many people would get infected in just a matter of hours without intervention. If they had any idea… they would have evacuated everyone long before, but it was too late.

"Were you both looking for survivors here?" Kakashi asked, knowing Sakura was pretty concerned.

"We could help search too," Sakura added.

"Yeah, we were," Shikamaru replied. Glancing to Choji who looked a little pale, he said, "If there was anyone… they are long gone by now. So I think we should head out to Suna and hope we find something left standing."

The silvered haired Jounin nodded. "Let's go then. We won't have much light left to travel if we wait too long."

As they jumped across the rooftops, he noticed a few of the house's doors they past were wide open. The moment he saw a few bodies of children laid out in the front with flowers he had to force himself to look away. It wasn't fair and it wasn't right for anyone to have to die so young. Nothing in this world could ever make any sense to him why innocent people had to die before even given a chance at life.

The land's lush green was slowly fading into colors of gold and brown as the trees of the forest were becoming sparser. They still had about one more day of travel before they would reach the Hidden Sand Village. Making camp at the top of a rocky cliff that overlooked the horizon, Kakashi sat with his feet dangling over the edge. Overhearing Sakura's solemn conversation with Shikamaru about Naruto, she had asked if he knew what happened to Tsunade or Ino.

"We couldn't find Ino… and as for Tsunade, I'm kind of surprised Kakashi hadn't told you yet…" he hesitantly replied.

Feeling their eyes at his back, Kakashi inwardly sighed as he stared down at the closed book in his hands. Idling flipping at its worn pages, he couldn't find the heart to read it even if he wanted to.

"What do you mean?" she asked in confusion.

"…She had turned into… into one of them along with Shizune. By the time anyone found out, most of the people in the tower were already gone. Then someone had the bright idea to set fire to the building along with everyone who wasn't infected still inside. Kakashi and I barely made it out alive."

The silence after that was a long one.

Placing his book down beside him, Kakashi began to flick small pebbles towards the bottom of the cliff as his chest felt heavy with grief. Tears blurred his vision as he tried to desperately forget watching one of his few best friends be burned alive right before his eyes. If Shikamaru hadn't pulled him away at the last moment, he probably would have let himself stay there as one of the floors collapsed. It was only then after he took a breath did he remember Sakura had no idea what was happening.

But the guilt he felt weighed down on him so much it was like he could barely breathe. Why was he always the one being left behind? Why couldn't he ever do fucking more? Why did everyone in his life have to die? He knew it was a matter of time before he would lose Sakura, too. All he knew right now was that he didn't want to live to see that day.

_TBC_


	4. Day 3

**Day 3  
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Moonlight glistened against the vast silhouetted hills of sand dunes as they traveled almost nonstop to reach Suna by nightfall. Seeing a distant glow of lights, they knew they were finally getting close to the Hidden Sand Village. No one would voice the quiet worry that they would find nothing but destruction and chaos like they had already seen in the past two days, but what they had found was something entirely different.

Approaching a large crowd surrounding the front gates of the village, everyone glanced at each other in concern as they approached the outer edge of what looked like many other refugees. A lot of people were already camped for the night while others were standing near the gates and talking in what sounded like a heated debate.

Kakashi slowly stepped forward towards the thick of the crowd, peering over a few heads to find several shinobi at the front standing their ground while pushing a few people back who tried to enter inside.

"I've told you all, no one is allowed to enter the village at this time. There simply isn't enough room," one of the older looking Jounins said.

"My husband and children are inside! Why can't I go to my family?" a woman shouted in grief. "Suna is my home!"

"I'm sorry, but no one is allowed to enter," he simply replied. "No exceptions."

Other people began to shout how they didn't have the right to deny them going home or letting them find refuge.

"Why isn't the Kazekage doing anything? Why is he leaving us out here to die?" a man yelled.

Kakashi bit the inside of his cheek at the display. This was bad. There were already several hundred people if not more out here. The Hidden Sand wasn't a small village by any means. Did they really not have enough room to handle more people? What was going on inside?

Looking to Sakura, Shikamaru and Choji who had followed behind him through the crowd, he sighed as he scratched the back of his neck. "I'm not sure what this means for us," he murmured. "We might have to head back east to even have a chance to survive. We can't last long out here in a desert. We'll be out of water soon."

"And neither can they," Sakura worriedly said as the glanced over the people around them. "If we could at least talk to Lord Gaara, maybe we can figure out a way to help everyone. He's not a heartless person… he would want to help these people."

"I think so, too," Shikamaru agreed. "I'm not sure why Tamari never replied to any of my messages, but there must be a reason. They may not be letting people inside, but I don't see anyone coming out either."

Nodding, Kakashi sighed as he looked towards the front. "Let's try and speak to them."

Making their way through the restless crowd and small makeshift campfires, they edged their way towards the frontline.

"Excuse me," Kakashi called out to one of the guards.

"There is no room," the man barked.

"We need to just speak to Lord Gaara. He doesn't have to let us stay, but we just want to talk."

"You and everyone else."

"We're from Konoha," Shikamaru spoke up. "We bring news about our Lady Hokage. We're her advisors."

"No one is speaking with Lord Gaara. I don't give a damn who you are. No one is to pass."

Sighing, Kakashi motioned for them to let it go for now and led their way back to the outer edge of several camps. Picking a spot that was dimly lit by a small family's camp fire, everyone sat in a semicircle against the cool sand.

"I have a bad feeling," Sakura murmured. "What if Gaara is in trouble?"

"Someone else could be running the inside for all we know," Shikamaru added. "I'm not sure how fast this virus has spread before it hit us, but perhaps they are trying to contain it."

"I'm really hoping for the latter," Kakashi said as he leaned back, glancing up at the large moon hovering above the massive crater that held the village from within. "We should check out the outer perimeter tomorrow. Maybe we can find a weak point to slip inside."

"If the guards stationed at the wall are there as they should be, we'll be easily spotted unless we do it at night."

"Let's press the guards and see if we can somehow get a message to Gaara. If not, then I think we should try it." Sakura said.

Everyone nodded at the plan except Choji who seemed to be lost in thought. Shikamaru gently nudged his friend's arm. "Choji?"

"S-Sorry," he stammered. "I guess I'm just a bit tired."

"Let's get some sleep then," Kakashi suggested.

Once everyone prepared their bedrolls, Sakura slipped inside hers which was next to Kakashi's. Hearing Shikamaru softly speak to Choji about something a few feet behind them, she glanced to her former sensei who seemed to be staring at the stars above. When his gaze fell to hers, she offered a pressed smile before fidgeting with the comforter pulled around her.

He looked like he wanted to say something, but remained quiet before he looked back towards the towering black sky. Finding herself also at a loss of words of what to say, she snuggled more into her roll and faintly said, "Goodnight, Kakashi."

"Goodnight, Sakura," he whispered back.

_TBC_

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><p>[ <strong>Author Note:<strong>_ *cue melancholy The Last of Us music*_

I've been meaning to post this, but got swept away into KakaSaku V-Day tumblr week. (which I highly suggest you check out some of the sweet fics and art people made) ]


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